How children view their parents' divorce
Findings from a Norwegian study
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March 2000
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Abstract
The Norwegian Children's Perspectives on Divorce study was designed to address two questions: How do children recollect their parents' separation - that is, the time when their father left home? How do children adjust to their reorganised family and everyday life, with their father and mother living in separate households? This article describes the study, and reports findings from in-depth interviews with fifteen children. Findings highlight the need for policy makers and divorcing parents to listen carefully to children in order to understand children's needs and the way children interpret the situation and their own role in it.
The Norwegian Children's Perspectives on Divorce study was designed to address two questions: How do children recollect their parents' separation - that is, the time when their father left home? How do children adjust to their reorganised family and everyday life, with their father and mother living in separate households? This article describes the study, and reports findings from in-depth interviews with fifteen children. Findings highlight the need for policy makers and divorcing parents to listen carefully to children in order to understand children's needs and the way children interpret the situation and their own role in it.